jjsmithsonian99

Hey, I'm a current MGA student, and I just talked to Megan. This year, they've sent out all funding letters together with the offer of admission, and they're not going to adjust that later, so there's no point in holding out for more funding, it seems. Also, we all got some money for our second year in the MGA program. I don't know what others have received, but I didn't get funding on admission and got a little bit now. Also, we've been told that there will be some TAships for second year MGA students in the future, and some of us have been hired as research assistants by professors. Of course it's not great that they don't tell you what you'll get in the second year when you're admitted and have to make a decision, but I just wanted to let you guys know that there is some funding later, too. Though most of us are also taking on more student loans to make it work. JJ

I didn't get any funding from Munk either. I think it's because I'm not such a super applicant and the average student at Munk is just better, so it's harder to get funding than at NPSIA? Balsillie has lots of money for a very small number of students.

That's just your opinion to convince yourself that NPSIA is the best choice for you. Here's another reason for why U of T tops all the other schools in Canada: the faculty. Toronto is a great city and U of T pays competitive salaries that attract the best professors in the world. Remember that professors are snooty and don't like to live in small towns like Ottawa

My sense is that especially internationally it's important because nobody outside of Canada has ever heard of Carleton or NPSIA. Actually most people outside of Canada haven't even heard of Ottawa or know that it's the capital. Also, Toronto (not Munk specifically) is ranked the highest in the country by employer reputation. I'm also guessing that reputation is important in general because an LSE degree is only worth it because of the reputation, not because of the education. I mean how much can you really learn in two terms of ten weeks each? So at Munk I'm getting U of T reputation and (hopefully) a good education as well.

Not exactly a cultural gap with the US. Except that perhaps we have less of a jock or sorority/frat culture here. In any case that leads us off topic.

I don't think Munk is "high-risk, high-reward." It's more like a substantial investment in yourself with a high probability of a good return. I also don't buy the NPSIA career info. First of all, the information is from 2007. You may remember that there was a global financial crisis and all big economies (except Canada) tanked. The federal government didn't hire at all. So the career placement success of Munk has to be seen in this light: amazing given the circumstances. I also couldn't find any hard figures on the NPSIA website. For all I know, it could be that of each graduating class at NPSIA, only half find decent jobs. LSE (didn't apply to UCL): I've heard good and horrible things about them. Mostly they seem to live off their reputation. Zero career support. That's definitely different at NPSIA and Munk from what I've been told. And at this crazy exchange rate I'd be paying almost as much for a year in London as I'd be paying for two in Toronto including an internship somewhere else. Finally, I don't want to be limited to Canada (maybe now for personal reasons, but not in the long run), and my guess it that it matters how your university is ranked if you apply somewhere in the US or Europe and they look at your résumé. Toronto is in the top-25 in all the major rankings. Carleton is ranked in the 500s.

It's nice and all to think about how much funding theyr'e giving you, but what matters most to me is what my career chances are after I get this degree. Say I go to NPSIA with generous funding (I got $8,000) but I don't get a job afterwards, then I've lost a year and am no closer to where I want to be. If I go to Munk and pay $40,000 in tuition and more for living expenses, but I get a job paying $65,000 afterwards, then it seems well worth it to me. I've spoken to a few Munk students in the second year (well, three) and they all had jobs already, two in business and one with the government. Where do NPSIA graduates go, if they don't go to DFATD? I have no idea because NPSIA just makes this blanket statement but doesn't tell me anything specific. No numbers, percentages, how long it takes people to find a job, etc. Applied: M.A. in International Affairs (Conflict Analysis and Conflict Resolution cluster), Carleton University MGA, Munk School of Global Affairs MSc IPE, LSE Accepted Waitlisted Rejected